The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 2

RegionB2 Public lnterestB3 0bituariesB6 WeatherB8 CitylStete The Indianapolis Star www.lndyStar.com Sunday, March 2, 2003 Section InfoUne: 624-INFO (4636) Science fairs teach valuable lessons. B4 Marketing pioneer has left his mark. 65 EM Fwm ml Subcontractor says it didn't begin handling license plates until weeks after woes started. Black students may be wrongly labeled Sapp said the company's computerized tracking system shows the plates were sent out within 48 hours after SmartMail picked them up daily from the BMV. The U.S.

Postal Service confirmed that SmartMail made daily deliveries during the time they handled the plates, said Darla Stafford, a Postal Service spokeswoman. BMV officials could offer few details. Coleman said, the BMV has no system to track the plates or complaints. Call Star reporter Marcella Fleming at 1-317-444-6089. shifted the blame to SmartMail of Atlanta, and canceled the service.

SmartMail did not begin handling plates until Jan. 27. Coleman could not explain what caused the delays from Jan. 1 to Jan. 27.

The BMV commissioner hasn't explained to SmartMail why it's to blame, company Executive Vice President David Sapp said. "Nobody's giving me any details as to why SmartMail is getting tagged with the complaints, except that we're the new kid on the block." man will offer any more details. He said he needs to focus on current plate orders and not spend "a lot of time retracing and going into a long explanation of what happened." Coleman admitted Feb. 20 that his agency was caught off guard by a massive increase in online plate renewals in January. Processing and mailing were delayed even as the BMV called in extra help to handle the :40,295 electronic orders.

In January 2002, about 10,000 plates were renewed online. But on Feb. 21, Coleman The problem has prompted a key state lawmaker to call on the BMV to explain what happened and how it is being corrected. "No one seems to know where the problem is, and that concerns me," said Sen. James Merritt, R-Indianapolis, who chaired a study commission in 2000 on the BMV.

"It's quite obvious the air needs to be cleared." It is unclear whether BMV Commissioner Gerald B. Cole By Marcella Fleming marcella.flemingndystar.com The Georgia mailing company blamed by the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles for delayed delivery of thousands of license plates says it's not the culprit and it can prove it. Last week, state officials blamed SmartMail Services for the snafu that angered Hoosier drivers worried about being pulled over with expired plates. Unsolved homicides Questions remain Some high-profile cases in Indiana involving killings that have not been solved: fr ustrate survivors Counties in limbo on improving air quality Area holds off on ozone-reducing plans while EPA decides if it can join program. parison, only 24.9 percent of robbery cases and 13.6 percent of vehicle thefts nationwide were cleared.

More homicides are cleared because they "undergo a more concentrated investigative effort" than property crimes, according to an FBI report. Indianapolis police have 22 homicide detectives and By Kevin O'Neal kevin.onealdPindystar.com Their names have become hauntingly familiar: Jill Behrman. LaShonna Bates. Ann Louise Har-meier. Police manage to solve most killings, but the pain of those that remain unsolved surfaced anew last week when Eric Behr Stalled cases are source of great pain for parents, regardless of victims' age Thurman "Earl" Sharp: Sheriff's deputy shot to death at off-duty job Dec.

25, 1988. Youths often lumped into special ed for disciplinary problems, researchers say. By Kim Hooper kim.hooperdindystar.com Many special education classes in Indiana schools are filled with black students, forcing educators to question whether student misbehavior not disability is the basis for placement. The state's 293 school districts which educate 166,414 children with special needs have been asked by state education officials to analyze how black students are placed. An ongoing study by the Indiana Policy Center in Bloomington and authorized by state education officials has prompted school districts to look within for answers.

As a result, Indianapolis Public Schools and two other districts in Marion County are using new approaches that officials hope will lead to better identification of children needing special education services and early intervention. School officials in Pike and Lawrence townships are looking at issues of cultural awareness and parental involvement in the referral process. IPS officials will contract with a nonprofit multiservice agency to provide school-wide social and mental health services, in addition to lessons. "How are we evaluating kids? Overrepresentation has always been a concern," said Robert Mar-ra, who oversees special educa- See Students, Page B7 Lopsided numbers Black students are more likely to be identified in need of special education services than their white peers. They account for a disproportionate number of students in some special education categories.

Total student enrollment 2000-01 school year 988,691 students in Indiana supervisors, compared to 11 in the sex offense section and six in the car theft section. But some killings re- main unsolved. That's a frustration the mother of LaShonna Bates knows all too welL Marion County prosecutors thought they had the case cracked when a suspect confessed to killing the 11-" year-old in 1994, but in Behrman man, father of missing Indiana University student Jill Behrman, erupted over what he said was delay on the part of Monroe County prosecutors. That office has yet to file charges in the 3- year-old case. When the victims are children as in the 1994 death of LaShonna Bates and the 1993 killing of Katie Clay a stalled investigation can seem even more bitter.

"You get the breaks on some cases, and on some Kieu Duy Hoang: Beaten to death in March 1986. Daughter's ex-boyfriend Bates you don't," said homicide Lt. Joseph Mason of the Indianapolis Police 0 November a judge threw out the confession. Although that ruling is under appeal, prosecutors say they plan to file no new charges in the slaying. The mystery is even deeper in the case of Katie Clay.

Police have no suspects, no motive and no leads in the case, which is now nearly a decade old. The 6-year-old girl disappeared from her Westside home in July 1993 and See Unsolved, Page B7 Mary Ann Higginbotham: Remains were found on June 4, 1979, a year after she By Tammy Webber tammy.webberindystar.com Indianapolis-area officials say they want to make the tough decisions to improve air quality instead of waiting for the federal government to impose regulations. But two months after Indianapolis and its neighbors asked to join a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program called Ozo-neFlex which would allow them to pursue ozone-reducing programs without the fear of being penalized they still don't know if their proposal will be accepted. That uncertainty is making it difficult to begin serious planning on how to reduce smog-producing pollution that could cause the nine-county Indianapolis metropolitan area to be declared a non-attainment zone when the EPA begins enforcing stricter new federal ozone standards next spring, said Jodi Perras, deputy director for policy and planning at the Indianapolis Department of Public Works.

"We try to move forward on what we can, but we need to know that they're going to approve our participation before we really move forward intensively on things that will cost a lot of money," Perras said. Perras said officials hope to have an answer within the next few Weeks. EPA spokesman Bill Omohundro said the plan was being evaluated but would not comment further. Part of the delay is that the EPA must decide whether to allow the regional compact to participate, even though it cannot meet some of the deadlines set by the agency. Indiana officials do not think they can have final rules in place by the EPA's Dec.

31, 2004, deadline and are proposing to adopt them six months later, on June 30, 2005. That's because the rulemaking process in Indiana takes at least 18 months because of public participation requirements, Perras said. The EPA also wants control 1 measures implemented by Dec. 31, 2005; Perras said officials here are See Umbo, Page B7 Department. "Sometimes there flat-out are not witnesses, even if we're confident that someone knows something." The fact is, most homicide cases in Indianapolis and the country are cleared by arrests, charges, prosecution, or by being declared justified or self-defense killings.

An Indianapolis Star analysis snowed the clearance rate for Marion County homicides increased to 73.9 percent in 2002 from 63.9 percent in 2001. That includes figures from the Indianapolis Police Department, Marion County Sheriffs Department and other police agencies in the county. The FBI's national crime statistics showed a steady homicide clearance rate of 63J percent in 2000 and 62.4 percent in 2001, the last two years for which those numbers are available. By comr --w Black 11.50 Other 6.15 White Brookley louks: 19-year-old disappeared June 24, 2002. Her car was found a few days later.

Police fear remains in trash bin are girl, 6 Charred body found 8 miles from the home of Westside child who disappeared Thursday. Of all students labeled emotionally handicapped: Black 21.79 Other White 75.17 Total 6,146 Of all students labeled mildly mentally handicapped: Other White- Six-year-old Katie Clay dis-appeared from her Westside home In July 1993. Her body I. was found In a burning trash Ll A. I LI I 4 Black 29.70 By Eric Krai STAR STAFF WRTTER Police are Investigating a possible link between Thursday's disappearance of a 6-year-old West-side girl and an unidentified charred body; recovered from a trash bin.

-We're looking at It right now as two separate cases, but each one Is keeping an eye on the oth- cr." said Detective Rick Burkhardt 66.40 oin on uib near Star file photo Devastated: Diane Horton grieves for Robert Gierse at the Near-Eastside home where he was found dead on Dec. 1, 1971. The case was dismissed. I Total 14,198 Source: Indiana Department of Education E. Weaver staff graphic Gaming Commission needs its own enforcement bureau If we can't get gambling out of the state we are, after all, No.

3 in gaming revenue for the nation let's at least get our police out of the action. Why? Because 83 Indiana State ing our $850 million deficit But is it the best arrangement? Is it really how we want to use our officers dressed in civilian clothes, driving unmarked vehicles, hanging out in smoke-filled boats where the liquor runs freely, while doing the bid- Ruth Holladay The unsavoriness seems adequate reason to get troopers out of casinos, but it probably won't happen soon. Rep. Cleo Duncan, R-Greensburg, is the author of House Bill 1231, which would create a separate gaming enforcement bureau under the Gaming Commission. It would include police officers highly trained in gaming issues and auditors trained to oversee the gaming industry.

Jennifer Arnold of the Indiana Gaming Commission suggests the bill is a dead duck. "The State Police have advised us there is a fiscal impact associated with that bill Given the budget crisis, we are not able to support it" No, it's cheaper to corrupt our police. Ruth Holiday's column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. You can reach her at 1-317-444-6405 or via e-mail at ruth.holladayfindystar.com While the crime stats are dutifully recorded by the police, they aren't part of the casinos' marketing campaign. "This is an industry that depends on people coming to them, so they don't publicize it," notes Mason.

Maybe the crime strengthens the argument for an even stronger police presence. But troopers who've pulled the duty say it's a boring job. One young officer likened his 13 months on the job to being a mall cop no challenge, he said. Steve Bond, 45, is a retired Indiana State Police master sergeant who "worked the road" 18 years, then volunteered for the Grand Victoria Casino in Rising Sun. He was there 13 months, then moved to corporate investigations in the gaming division in Downtown Indianapolis making sure that casinos didn't hire employees with ties to organ ized crime.

He liked both jobs, but he says 8-10 troopers per boat is too many the casinos already have their own security forces. Then there are the built-in pitfalls. "There is a lot of temptation not moneywise or perks, but on the morality side. I personally did not have a problem, but you know that saying an old oak tree may be strong, but it can sway. After a year I thought, 'I need to get out of here before I get in Bond, who is married, reached that conclusion after being propositioned by not one but two cocktail waitresses, who offered to have sex with him at the same time.

This illustrates a point made by gambling foes like John Wolf of Valparaiso. "The industry has always claimed it is like any other business. We say it isn't" ding of the Indiana Gaming Commission, which regulates gambling? Of course, that's the "nice" version of this job. In fact, according to Major Mark Mason, head of the gaming division for the State Police, "There are all types of crimes on these boats. We've had counterfeit currencies, batteries, prostitution, robberies, sexual battery and lots of thefts that sometimes run into the Police troopers assigned to the state's 10 casinos are 83 officers too many working gaming's potentially dark side of the street, for starters.

As it's set up now, their salaries, plus sign-on bonuses and all benefits, are bankrolled by the boats. Does that strike anybody else as just plain wrong? Sure, it saves Indiana $6.2 million, which no doubt pleases the governor's number-crunchers, especially consider-.